Bing nipped at Google's heels last month

Microsoft's re-branded and improved search engine has been out for nearly a month now. So, how has Bing been doing against Google? Not too badly, says Reuters, which got hold of data showing the new "decision engine" has actually made some headway.

According to numbers from StatCounter, Microsoft's U.S. search engine market share averaged 8.23% in June, up from 7.81% immediately before the June 3 re-launch and 7.21% in April. Bing drew in even more users shortly after its debut, reaching a 9.21% market share peak. StatCounter says the site also went on to capture 8.45% of the market during the last week of June.

To put these numbers in perspective, Yahoo's market share stayed practically stationary last month—Reuters quotes a rise from 10.99% to only 11.04%.

StatCounter CEO Adohan Cullen's comment to the news agency says it all: "At first sight, a 1 percent increase in market share does not appear to be a huge return on the investment Microsoft has made in Bing but the underlying trend appears positive."